News from the Nest

What a wonderful and busy week it was at Rockledge!

We saw lots of pink throughout our school in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness on Tuesday. Thank you for helping us promote awareness, compassion, and hope while demonstrating the kindness and caring spirit that make our Rockledge community so special!

Thursday evening’s SAC and PTO meetings were both well attended. At SAC, we shared updates on school accreditation, technology regulations, and information from our superintendent. At PTO, we celebrated the tremendous success of the Boosterthon and discussed upcoming events. Participation continues to grow at both meetings, and we encourage all families to join us and get involved!

On Friday, we celebrated the culmination of Hispanic Heritage Month with our annual parade. Students proudly wore traditional clothing as they paraded through the school to lively music, celebrating their heritage and representing countries and cultures with pride. It was a joyful way to celebrate the rich diversity of our Rockledge community!

Saturday’s Trunk or Treat was a wonderful day filled with community, costumes, and, of course, candy! Students arrived dressed as princesses, Minecraft characters, spooky creatures, and so much more while collecting treats and enjoying time together. A huge thank-you to our PTO and all of our volunteers for creating such a fun event for our Rockledge families!

Volunteer Orientation

It’s not too late to join us on Monday, October 19, at 8:30 a.m. for our Volunteer Orientation! If you are interested in volunteering at Rockledge, we would love to have you join us. During the orientation, we will provide a brief overview of volunteer opportunities and expectations, as well as review our volunteer guidelines and required acknowledgment form. We appreciate our volunteers and the many ways they support our students, staff, and school!

Literacy Night — This Thursday!

Join us this Thursday, October 22, from 5:30–7:00 p.m. for Literacy Night! There will be books, music, activities, and fun for the whole family. Come early at 5:00 p.m. to enjoy a hot dog, chips, and a soda, sponsored by our PTO. We hope to see you there for a fun evening celebrating reading and literacy! Please see below for details on what to wear each day as we celebrate our camping theme for Literacy.

Veterans Day Writing Contest

Please see the information below about our Veterans Day Writing Contest. Students will have an opportunity to write about a veteran or hero in their lives and share why that individual is meaningful to them. We look forward to reading our students’ thoughtful reflections and honoring the special people who have made a difference in their lives!

Family Engagement Night

Our second Family Engagement Night will be held on Wednesday, November 4, from 5:30–6:30 p.m. We will have speakers focusing on reading and math to help families develop a strong understanding of our ELA and math curricula, learn how to interpret reports on student performance, and discover practical ways to support learning at home. Please RSVP using the form at this link.

Thank you for your continued partnership, support, and commitment to our school community. We appreciate all that you do to make Rockledge a wonderful place for our students to learn, grow, and SOAR!

Have a wonderful week, Eagles!

The Week Ahead

Monday (Day 1)
🦅 Wear your Nest shirt or Nest color with rain boots or hiking boots
📌 Volunteer Orientation — 8:30 a.m.

Tuesday (Day 2)
📚 Wear pajamas for reading with a friend

Wednesday (Day 3)
🌧️ Wear a vest or rain jacket

Thursday (Day 4)
🥾 Wear your favorite plaid or flannel shirt and hiking boots
📚 Literacy Night — Dinner begins at 5:00 p.m.; literacy activities from 5:30–7:00 p.m.

Friday (Day 5)
💚💛 Wear Rockledge Spirit Wear or Green & Gold!

Beyond the Week

• October 19: Volunteer Orientation — 8:30 a.m.

• October 22: Literacy Night — 5:30–7:00 p.m.

• October 30: End of 1st Q; Eagle of the Month Ceremony (by invitation); Book Character Day

• November 2 & 3: No School for Students — Conference Days

• November 4: Family Engagement Night — 5:30–6:30 p.m.

Have a wonderful week!

Mrs. Dennis
Principal
Rockledge Elementary

Each month we will post grade level and team newsletters so families can access information for their student(s). Links will be updated as teams provide their newsletters. Please click on the link below.

K-2 ESSAY

Prompt: Write about a veteran you know or what makes someone a hero to our country.

Rules:

1. Students may write about a veteran they personally know or describe the qualities that make a veteran a hero.

2. Must be hand written by student and be his/her original work.

3. Must be at least 3 sentences.

4. Drawings can be included but will not be considered as part of the scoring.

5. Must have student’s name on submitted essay.

6. Must be submitted to Ms. Downer by Wednesday, 10/21.

3rd-5th ESSAY

Prompt: What does Veteran's Day mean to you?

Rules:

1. Students should write about the importance of Veteran’s Day and what it means to them personally.

2. Must be hand written by student and be his/her original work.

3. Must be at least 8 sentences.

4. Drawings can be included but will not be considered as part of the scoring.

5. Must have student’s name on submitted essay.

6. Must be submitted to Ms. Downer by Wednesday, 10/21.

Thank you to all the families who attended our first Family Engagement Night! Families received an informative overview of our reading and math programs, assessments, and resources to support learning at home. All students have received a deck of cards to play the math games linked here. Please let us know if you have any questions. If you were unable to attend, or would like to review the information again, please click here to access the presentation and resources that were shared. We look forward to seeing you at our second-quarter Family Engagement Night on November 4th from 5:15-6pm in the library.

We have several opportunities for our volunteers to help! We will be holding a Volunteer Orientation soon to renew our roster of volunteers. Once you are screened and approved, please reach out to Ms. Santos in the front office to schedule a time you are available. We have teacher requests just waiting for a volunteer to come to the rescue.

Congratulations to our weekly attendance winners in each grade level!

Kindergarten: Ms. Godette

1st Grade: Ms. Petterson

2nd Grade: Ms. Dixon

3rd Grade: Ms. Dookie and Ms. Renteria

4th Grade: Ms. Davis-Patterson

5th Grade: Ms. Cai

Multi-Grade: Ms. Kash

Thank you for helping us reach our schoolwide goal to reduce chronic absenteeism! Let's see which classes will have the best attendance this coming week.

Welcome to the Digital Family Tips Series – Raising Safe, Healthy, and Responsible StudentsTechnology and Student Success: Finding the Right Balance

Technology is an important tool for learning, creativity, and communication. Like any tool, it works best when used with purpose and balance.

✅ Encourage children to use technology to create, learn, and solve problems, not just consume content.

✅ Establish device-free times for family conversations, homework, and sleep.

✅ Help children develop healthy habits by balancing screen time with reading, outdoor play, hobbies, and face-to-face interactions.

Family Challenge: Ask your child, "What did you create with technology this week?"

Coming Next: The Hidden Cost of Multitasking: Why One Screen and One Task Is Best for Learning.

Overview of PBIS at Rockledge Elementary

Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) at Rockledge Elementary School is a schoolwide framework designed to promote a safe, respectful, and productive learning environment for all students. The program focuses on explicitly teaching, modeling, and reinforcing positive behaviors rather than relying on punishment. PBIS helps improve student behavior, engagement, and overall school climate by creating consistent expectations and a shared understanding of how students should act in different settings.

At Rockledge, PBIS is supported through visual tools such as posters, expectation matrices, and behavior reminders placed throughout the school. These resources break down expectations into clear, student-friendly language for areas like classrooms, hallways, cafeteria, and playground. By consistently reinforcing expectations such as being respectful, responsible, and safe, the school builds a positive culture where students are recognized for meeting expectations and supported when they need help improving behavior.

Students earn eggs for exhibiting S.O.A.R. behaviors. These eggs are accumulated and redeemed for classroom, grade-level, and schoolwide rewards.

Please click on the "Rockledge S.O.A.R. Expectations" header above, or visit our website directly, to access each of our expectations posters, descriptions, and how you can support our efforts at home.

https://rockledgees.pwcs.edu/about/pbis/index

Please click on the link to view the PWCS Cell Phone-Free Education Policy. At Rockledge, we have implemented the PWCS bell-to-bell policy that limits cell phone use during the instructional day. Our shared goal is creating classroom environments where students are fully present—mentally, emotionally, and socially. The student-created slogan, “Stop the scroll, take control,” reminds us that this policy is about empowerment, not restriction. It is about reclaiming focus, restoring meaningful human connection, and giving our students every opportunity to thrive. For more information, I invite you to review the PWCS FAQ page.

Please join our PTO so you can be a part of the Eagles community! Our next meeting will be on Thursday, November 19th from 6:00-7:00pm in the Library.

The purpose of a school advisory council is to provide opportunities for members of the school community to participate in the decision-making process at the local school level. A primary function of the council is to serve as an advisory body to the principal and school leadership team.

The school advisory council function is connected to the Prince William County Schools Strategic Plan, supporting Commitment 3- Family and Community Engagement, Objective 3.1- Prince William County Schools will engage families as authentic partners in education to support academic progress.

Our next meeting will be Thursday, November 19th at 5:15pm in the conference room.

• Focus: Navigating Digital Citizenship for Families

  6:30-7:30 p.m. on Thursday, October 29, 2026 – Live Zoom Webinar

  Target Audience: All PWCS students and families

  Join us on Thursday, October 29, for a webinar focused on helping children become safe, responsible, and confident users of technology.

  During this session, families will learn practical tips for helping children evaluate information they find online, communicate safely and respectfully, use technology and artificial intelligence responsibly, and maintain a healthy balance between screen time and everyday life. We will also share how PWCS supports digital citizenship and protects student data privacy, while providing resources and strategies families can use at home to guide their children's technology use. Parents and guardians will leave with tools, resources, and practical strategies to help their children navigate the digital world safely and successfully.

  Presenters for this session: Dr. Sean Ward, Instructional Technology Coach, and Patrick Heath, Coordinator for Instructional and Information Technology Training, with Prince William County Public Schools

  All requests for language accommodations are due by October 26, 2026.

  • Register for the webinar
  • Request language accommodations

ARRIVAL

• Supervision of students begins at 9:10am. Please stay with your students until that time. If they are walking by themselves, or with friends, students should arrive no earlier than 9:10am.
• When walking your student(s) to school, please say your goodbyes and wave from The Island. This will help us ensure we are getting students safely across the bus loop area.
• Please remember the church parking is not available for parking Tuesday-Thursday as they have parents bringing little ones to their program. Thank you for being good neighbors and keeping their students safe too.
• If your students are a Drop and Go, please have students hop out on the school side of the car with their things ready to go. We want to keep the flow moving as best we can. Also, a reminder there is NO PARKING in the drop off area and no U-turns on Mariner Drive. Please help us keep all of our students safe by following these procedures.

ATTENDANCE and GOING HOME CHANGES

• Please report student absences in ParentVue (use this link for directions ).
• Please email any going home change information to Ms. Rodriguez before 3:30pm and check for a confirmation email in return.

DISMISSAL

• Please make sure the adult picking up your student(s) has the tag you were issued. Pictures of tags are discouraged as we will need to have you wait until we can double check your ID before releasing your child. I have asked all staff to adhere to this requirement as we take our responsibility to keep your children safe very seriously, even if you are already recognizable by staff members.
• The playground will be open after buses leave school grounds.